If we could think up the perfect cast for an edgy western, it would probably consist ofMichael Fassbender, Jude Law, Joel Edgerton, and Natalie Portman. This dream team actually was assembled for Jane Got A Gun, the story of a woman striving to save her wounded husband from the outlaws bent on killing him… by recruiting her ex to help. Sounds great, right?

Well, last week Michael Fassbender bowed out of the project, leaving Joel Edgerton to switch into his role. A little disappointing, but still a strong cast! Yesterday, however, the film’s director Lynne Ramsay quit… on the first day of shooting! She was a no-show for day one of production in Santa Fe, leaving her cast and crew high and dry. Needless to say, no one involved with the movie is too happy with her at this moment.

As Deadline notes, it is extremely rare for a director to quit or simply not show up for a project during production. This might be the first time this has happened on such a high-profile project.

Lynne Ramsay is best known for her last film, 2011’s We Need To Talk About Kevin, and was previously a well-regarded filmmaker on the indie scene. Depending on her explanation for ditching Jane Got A Gun (she has yet to comment), that will very likely change now that she has cost the financiers of the film thousands of dollars by delaying the shoot. We can't imagine Natalie, Jude, or anyone else in the cast would ever work with her again.

“I have millions of dollars invested, we’re ready to shoot, we have a great script, crew and cast,” producer Scott Steindorff said of the incident. “I’m shocked and so disappointed someone would do this to 150 crew members who devoted so much time, energy, commitment and loyalty to a project, and then have the director not show up. It is insane somebody would do this to other people. I feel more for the crew and their families, but we are keeping the show going on.”

The production is currently hoping to find a replacement director ASAP. The film is set for a 2014 release.

Is there any excuse for Lynne's behavior? Or did she possibly just kill her career?